The Care Quality Commission
  • Care Home
  • Care home

Delamere Lodge

Overall: Requires improvement read more about inspection ratings

Delamere Road, Park End, Middlesbrough, Cleveland, TS3 7EB (01642) 322802

Provided and run by:
Landona House Limited

Important: The provider of this service changed. See old profile

All Inspections

During an assessment under our new approach

Dates of assessment: 13 January 2026, 21 January 2026, and remote review 22 January–9 February 2026.

Delamere Lodge Care home is a Residential care home providing personal and nursing care for up to 41 older people, including people living with dementia. At the time of our assessment the service supported 29 people.

The inspection was prompted in part by notification of a serious incident. The incident is subject to further investigation by CQC as to whether any regulatory action should[KW1] be taken. As a result, this inspection did not examine the circumstances of the incident. However, the information shared with CQC about the incident indicated potential concerns about risk management and the inspection examined this.

There was a manager at the home who was not registered with us but was supported by a regional manager and the provider.

 

We identified areas that needed to improve such as gaps in fire drills and issues

around environmental cleanliness, infection prevention and control (IPC) Although the provider had taken some action to address concerns during and after the inspection, we found that improvements were not yet fully sustained.

Staffing levels were appropriate, and people received care from experienced staff. However, the home was supporting people living with mental health issues and more specific training and changes to their registration with us was required for this.

Staff told us they felt more supported, recent changes in leadership had led to an increase in staff morale, and staff spoke positively about the new manager, describing them as approachable and responsive.

 

The service had made some progress addressing previous oversight issues. Audits, provider visits and governance checks were regular and documented. The management team were visible, and there were clear plans for further improvements, including staff supervision, training, and an environmental refurbishment.

Medicines were administered safely and well managed overall. Staff recruitment was carried out safely with the appropriate checks in place.

People experienced positive outcomes and told us they felt respected, supported, and able to maintain important relationships. Staff promoted people’s wellbeing, and we saw a caring, inclusive culture. The provider had taken meaningful steps to be responsive to concerns.

During an assessment under our new approach

Date of assessment 26 June to 15 August 2024.

Delamere Lodge is a care home providing personal and nursing care. It can accommodate up to 41 people. There were 35 people living at the home when we visited, some of whom are living with dementia. A responsive assessment was carried out due to risk identified in relation to medicines, infection prevention and control and governance. The assessment commenced with a site visit on 26 June 2024 and ended on 15 August 2024. We found breaches of regulation relating to infection prevention and control, management of risk, medicines and governance. Parts of the home were not clean and some items, such as cleaning products, were not stored safely. Medicines were not always safely managed; medicines records were inconsistent and incomplete. Although care was generally person centred and staff knew people well, care and risk records were not always comprehensive. We observed some positive interactions between people and staff. However, we also observed some risks to people that were not well managed and times when staff engagement was not proactive. The systems and processes in place to monitor the service were not always effective. Audits had not identified issues we found during our assessment and action plans failed to address all areas where improvement was required. There was a manager in post, who was applying to be registered with CQC, but they left while we were completing the assessment process. The management team were responsive to the issues we fed back to them and made some immediate improvements. They were investing in new governance systems to give them better oversight and streamline processes. They told us some of the omissions we found were due to the transfer of information to new systems We have asked the provider for an action plan in response to the concerns found at this assessment.

6 August 2019

During a routine inspection

About the service

Delamere Lodge provides care and accommodation for up to 41 people who require personal and nursing care, some of whom are living with dementia. At the time of the inspection the service supported 29 people.

People’s experience of using this service and what we found

People were kept safe. Risks were well managed. The provider learned from previous accidents and incidents to reduce future risks. The registered manager understood their responsibilities about safeguarding and staff received appropriate training. Arrangements were in place for the safe administration of medicines. Staff were recruited in a safe way and there were enough staff deployed to meet people’s needs.

People’s needs were assessed before they started using the service and on an ongoing basis. Staff were suitably trained and received regular supervisions. People were supported with their nutritional needs and to access a range of health care professionals. People were supported to have maximum choice and control of their lives, and staff supported them in the least restrictive way possible. The policies and systems in the service supported this practice.

Staff treated people with dignity and respect. Staff promoted and maintained people’s independence by encouraging them to care for themselves, where possible. People were supported to access advocacy services.

Care plans were adequately detailed and person-centred. People’s communication needs were detailed within care records and staff knew how to communicate with them effectively. People knew how to complain, and any complaints received were fully investigated and subsequent action was taken.

People and staff spoke highly of the registered manager and were complimentary about the service. Staff were involved in the ongoing development and improvement of the service through regular meetings. An effective quality assurance process was in place. People and relatives were regularly consulted about the quality of the service through surveys and meetings.

For more details, please see the full report which is on the CQC website at www.cqc.org.uk

Rating at last inspection

The last rating for this service was requires improvement (published 28 August 2018). Since this rating was awarded the registered provider of the service has changed. We have used the previous rating to inform our planning and decisions about the rating at this inspection.

Why we inspected

This was a planned inspection based on the previous rating.

Follow up

We will continue to monitor information we receive about the service until we return to visit as per our re-inspection programme. If we receive any concerning information we may inspect sooner.